Buzz’s Quick Guide to the Thai General Election

Current Prime Minister Abhisit (adove) is running for re-election. He's suave, articulate, Oxford-educated, and probably too good for Thai politics right now.

Thaksin's younger sister, Yingluck, (above) is running for Thai prime minister as Thaksin's "clone." Thaksin, a convicted felon, is waiting in Dubai to be called back to Thailand under his clone's amnesty program, so that he doesn't have to serve his two-year prison sentence for corruption.

Bangkok, Thailand. June 8, 2011. Thailand’s general election will be held on July 3. Because Thailand has a parliamentary system similar to England’s, the prime minister is not directly elected; rather, the people elect the House of Representatives, and the House selects the prime minister. The two major parties are the Democrats and the Puea Thai. However, this election is not about issues; it is about the return of ousted former prime minister Thaksin, who fled into exile after being convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison.

There are two parties: the Democrats headed by the current prime minister Abhisit, and the Thaksin-controlled Puea Thai party and their allies, the Red Shirts, also Thaksin controlled. The Red Shirts burned down central Bangkok last year.

A few weeks ago, because he couldn’t trust anyone else, Thaksin appointed his youngest sister, Yingluck, to head his Puea Thai party and become prime minister. Yingluck is 43-years of age, pretty, telegenic, and utterly without any political or government experience, inasmuch as she has spent her life to-date occupying various positions in Thaksin’s many businesses. Think Sarah Palin Lite and you’ll get the picture. Regardless, she is enjoying wide popular appeal and is running on a platform of amnesty for Thaksin so that he can return to Thailand and run things again from some place other than jail. Thaksin has repeatedly described her as his “clone.” Right now, Yingluck is enjoying lots of media attention and is very popular.

So there you have it: Thaksin comes back or he doesn’t.

Actually, the election is a lot less important than it might at first seem. Neither party is expected to win a majority of the popular vote, and another coalition government is expected, a common occurrence in Thailand. The Red Shirts will not accept any government not headed by hero Thaksin, and Thaksin’s many opponents fear his return because of his authoritarian nature and his ability to take revenge if not restrained. Thus, most observers believe that the current conflicts are unlikely to be solved by the election.